


Adora's Christmas Wish

by kropotkhristian



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Universe, Canon Universe but with Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Special, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, cheesy hallmark christmas special but She-Ra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kropotkhristian/pseuds/kropotkhristian
Summary: It's Catra's first Christmas ever, and Adora, Glimmer, and Bow try to teach her how to celebrate. But some lingering trauma still persists, and so Adora tries to show Catra that having her there is all she's ever wanted for Christmas
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 122





	Adora's Christmas Wish

A morning chill brushed through the air of Catra and Adora’s bedroom in Brightmoon. Catra snuggled closer to Adora as she shivered, putting her arms around Adora’s waist from behind and squeezing her in tight. Adora grabbed Catra’s hand and curled into the embrace. It had been a few months since the war had ended, and Adora still felt occasionally surprised at how safe she felt in Catra’s arms. She felt safer there – more at home there – then she had felt anywhere for years, and the love that she felt threatened to spill over. She kissed Catra’s hand. “I love you.”  
  
Catra giggled behind Adora’s head. “I’m just trying to get warm, dummy.” Adora giggled in return as Catra blushed. “When did it get so cold in here, anyway? We’re gonna need another blanket.”  
  
Before Catra could get up to fetch another blanket, a loud banging erupted from their door. “Adora! Catra! Get up! It’s an emergency!”

Adora sprang to her feet at the sound of Glimmer’s voice and flung open the door.“What is it? What’s happening? Is somebody in trouble? Do we need She-Ra?”

Adora’s eyebrows narrowed as she looked at Glimmer and Bow. Both of them were dressed in winter gear, grins adorning their faces. “It’s snowing outside, Adora! You know what that means!”  
  
Adora groaned for a moment, before her face turned to a resigned nod. Catra approached the door. “This is your emergency? Are you serious, Sparkles? You terrified us! Yeah, wahoo, I can look out the window and see that it’s snowing – now let’s go back to bed.”  
  
Adora laughed as she took Catra’s hand. “Wait –this is sort of a thing. We have to go outside.”  
  
Catra looked confused. “What? Why? It’s freezing out there.”  
  
Glimmer perked up to explain. “It’s the first snow before Christmas! It’s tradition – we have to go outside, first thing! Then we have to come back inside, decorate the house, make hot chocolate, and write our letters to Santa -”  
  
Adora put up her hands to try and get Glimmer to slow down, but Glimmer was too excited. Catra became more confused. “Wait, Sparkles, slow down. We are doing what? For who? What’s Christmas?”

Glimmer gasped. “Oh my gosh! This is your first Christmas, isn’t it? I completely forgot! Now this is even more important!”  
  
Bow wiped a tear from his eye. “It’s just so sad. How did you guys never have Christmas?”  
  
Catra groaned. “Okay, Adora, do you wanna tell me what’s going on here?”

Glimmer spoke incredulously. “I can’t believe you haven’t told her about this yet!”  
  
Adora scoffed. “I was getting around to it! There’s a lot to explain! Okay Catra, so, in Brightmoon - and I guess lots of other places, too - there is this holiday called Christmas where we decorate the house and give each other presents. It’s kind of like a birthday, but for everybody all at once. Christmas is in-”

Adora looked at Glimmer for help. “It’s in two weeks, Adora-”  
  
“-right, it’s in two weeks, so we have to um, start decorating and write our letters to Santa.”

Catra put her hand on her hip. “Okay, but why does that mean we have to go outside so early in the morning? And who is Santa?”  
  
Glimmer smirked as she put her arm around Catra. She put on her best mysterious, storytelling voice. “Oh, Santa is the best part! Santa is a magic elf who lives in the deepest, most secret corner of the Snow Kingdom, and every year at Christmas, he brings all the good people of Etheria presents! All you have to do is write him a letter telling him what you want!”  
  
Catra pushed herself away from Glimmer and snorted. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”  
  
Glimmer elbowed Adora. Adora tried to sound convincing. “Oohhh yes, Catra. It’s uhhh… oh, Santa is definitely real...”  
  
Glimmer smacked her own forehead. Catra laughed even harder. “Okay, now I know he’s not real.”  
  
Glimmer groaned. “Adora was so much easier to fool on her first Christmas.”  
  
Catra cackled.

Adora protested. “Hey! Everything was very confusing, okay? I had just left the Horde, and I had just found a magic sword that with some magic words turned me into a giant magic princess! I didn’t know what to believe!”  
  
Catra wiped a tear from her eye as she tried to contain her laughter. “Oh, Adora. You’re such an idiot.”  
  
Adora harrumphed, but she couldn’t keep herself from smiling at seeing Catra laugh so hard. Bow spoke up. “Uhhh guys, we really ought to get out there before it stops snowing..”  
  
Catra responded. “So, let me get this straight. We’re going to go outside in the freezing cold, before we come back inside to make a mess of the house, all in preparation to write letters to a man who doesn’t exist? Why are we doing all this, again?”  
  
Glimmer stamped her foot with determination. “Because, it’s tradition! And there is this whole spirit of Christmas thing that I’m sure you will understand if you just do this with us!”  
  
Catra looked at Glimmer’s longing eyes before responding. “Ugh, fine. Just give me and Adora a minute to put on something warm.”  
  
Glimmer pumped her fists in victory. “Yes! Come meet us outside!”

Adora closed the door as Bow and Glimmer scampered away. Catra started rummaging through the closet for her winter coat, as Adora started putting on a sweater. “So, Christmas, huh?”  
  
Adora smiled. “Yeah, sorry to spring this all on you at once. I know it sounds weird, but it is actually really fun. Glimmer wasn’t lying when she said that there is sort of a – I don’t know, some kind of spirit to Christmas or something.”  
  
Catra zipped up her coat, a small hiss escaping her mouth as her mind replayed memories from the last time she wore it. _The Northern Reach._ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _It’s okay – you’re not that person anymore. You’re getting better._ She turned around to see Adora squeezing her head through a Christmas sweater, knitted with small icons of Adora, Bow and Glimmer, and the words “Best Friend Squad” across the front. Catra smirked. “Adora, what are you wearing?”  
  
Adora looked down at herself. “Oh, Castaspella made us all this sweater last Christmas. Didn’t you see that Bow and Glimmer had theirs on too? Maybe it was under their coats. It’s part of the, um, tradition.”

Catra laughed. “Wow, I think that’s the dorkiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey!” Adora whined as she put on her coat.  
  
Catra smiled and approached Adora. “Well, at least you aren’t just wearing the same red jacket. Besides, I’m glad you’ll be warm.” She reached out and zipped up Adora’s coat. As the zipper of the coat covered the icons of Adora, Glimmer, and Bow, a small shade of familiar resentment bubbled up underneath the surface of Catra’s eyes. Images of Adora’s abandonment flashed across Catra’s mind. She shook her head. _Stop it._ _She didn’t leave_ _you_ _for them – you know this. They are your friends too._ _You are all together now._ _You’re getting better._

Adora noticed Catra’s hands start to tremble, and she reached down and grabbed them. “Hey, are you okay?”  
  
Catra smiled, but looked away from Adora. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”  
  
Adora squeezed Catra’s hand. “You can tell me if something is bothering you. You know that, right?”  
  
Catra removed her hand from Adora’s grasp and put it in her coat pocket. She smirked. “Yeah, I know – but I’m fine. Let’s go freeze our tails off, shall we?”

\------------------------------

“Oh my gosh!” Glimmer snorted with laughter as they walked back through the front door, stomping snow off her boots. “And remember when Bow spilled hot chocolate all over the kitchen? My mom nearly killed him right then!”  
  
Bow put his hands up in mock surrender. “I have to tell you, that was scarier than facing Prime.”  
  
Adora, Bow, and Glimmer all bellowed with laughter as they took off their heavy winter clothes, sharing their favorite Christmas stories. Catra remained silent as she took off her coat. She folded her arms and waited for her chance to say something. “So, now what? We went out in the freezing cold and watched the snow or whatever. Now we have to what, put up decorations?”

Glimmer smiled. “Yep! Here, I’ll go get some tinsel for you and Adora. You guys can take the hallway next to your room, and Bow and I will take the area around the kitchen.”

Glimmer rushed away to get the decorations. Catra breathed a hidden sigh of relief when she realized that she and Adora would be alone for a while. Glimmer returned with some gold tinsel, and Adora and Catra retreated down the hallway and prepared to decorate.  
  
“So, it sounds like you, Sparkles, and Arrow Boy had some pretty good times around Christmas.” Catra spoke as she hung the first bit of tinsel around the light fixture near her and Adora’s bedroom door.  
  
“Yeah, we really have. A lot of really good memories. Christmas is really just a great time, and I know it always means a lot to Glimmer.” Adora hung a rung of tinsel before looking down at herself for a moment, a sad smile on her face. “It’s weird how things change, though. I mean this is only my fourth Christmas and already so much is different.”  
  
A surge of anxiety brushed across Catra’s body. _What does she mean? What is that look? Am I ruining it?_ Catra took a deep breath. _Slow down._ _Adora loves you. You’re getting better._ Catra steadied herself as she hung another rung of tinsel. “What, uh, what do you like most about Christmas, Adora?”

Adora put her finger up to her chin. “Hmm, you know? We normally just do whatever Glimmer says. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about what I like the most. Or, nobody’s ever really asked. Hmm… honestly, I’ve always liked writing the Santa letters. It was a good outlet.” She giggled. “It might be hard to write a letter this year, though. I don’t know.”

Catra just listened as she continued hanging the tinsel, smiling at how dorky it was that _of course_ Adora liked writing those silly Santa letters the best. Adora continued. “Last year was really hard. It was the first Christmas after we lost Angela. And the Horde just kept attacking, so we weren’t even sure if we were going to be able to -”  
  
Catra’s heart raced and her tail tensed up behind her. _That was you. You were attacking. You activated the portal. You ruined last Christmas._ Catra tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down again, but her mind was firing off too quickly. Adora noticed and took Catra’s hand. “ - oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t, uh – I didn’t mean to bring that up. I didn’t even realize that you were – I mean, I wasn’t thinking about how you were still part of the Horde last year. I’m sorry.”  
  
Catra couldn’t manage to slow her racing mind, but she put on a smirk for Adora. “It’s fine. It’s over. Now, let’s finish decorating this hallway.”  
  
Catra and Adora hung tinsel in silence for t he next while. After they were finished, they walked to the end of the hallway to look at their work. Tinsel draped lazily over the light fixtures and banisters, with some strands falling off completely and landing on the floor. Hardly any piece actually hung taught between two ends.  
  
Adora laughed tentatively. “Well, uh – well, it’s certainly more festive than it was before, I guess.”  
  
Catra groaned. “Whatever, it’s fine. Let’s just go back and get more decorations from Glimmer. I doubt they’re doing any better, anyway.”

Adora and Catra ran back towards their friends, but their feet slowed as they approached the kitchen. The entire area was glowing with decorations, with tinsel and pine shimmering around them, placed lovingly across the light fixtures, banisters, and other features of the main hall. Both Catra and Adora couldn’t help but gape at what they saw. Glimmer and Bow were both putting on the finishing touches, but they paused and walked towards their friends. Catra tried to put on a straight face as she spoke. “How did you – I mean, you only had as long as we’ve had -”  
  
Glimmer cackled. “I mean, we’ve had a lot of practice doing this over the years. What, are you saying that your decorating doesn’t look this good?”  
  
Catra put on a defensive face. “Well, you only gave us one box of gold, uh, whatever that was. If we had more decorations -”  
  
Glimmer smirked. “Okay, yeah, sure.”

Bow put his hands on his hips. “Guys, you know, not everything has to be a competition. Besides, I think it’s time we all took a nice break and made some hot chocolate.”  
  
Adora smiled. “Yes, that sounds so good!”  
  
Glimmer perked up. “Oh, I just got a great idea! What if we had a competition to see who can make the best hot chocolate?”  
  
Bow grumbled. “Glimmer, I literally just said -”  
  
“I know, that’s what gave me the idea! C’mon, this will be fun. Me and you vs. Catra and Adora, best hot cocoa wins!”  
  
Catra smirked. “Oh, Sparkles, you are so on. This is something I happen to know _very_ well.”  
  
Adora looked confused. “Hot chocolate? You know how to make hot chocolate?”  
  
Catra gave Adora a determined look. “Yeah, trust me, we’ll win this.”

Glimmer grabbed Bow’s hand. “Okay then, it’s settled. Let’s do this. Ready, set, go!”  
  
All four of them rushed towards their battle stations in the kitchen. Adora and Catra pulled down their ingredients and a few mugs, and Adora pulled out an easy hot chocolate recipe and put it on the counter . Adora began pulling out scoops of cocoa powder but Catra protested. “No, Adora, that’s wrong. Trust me, you wanna heat up this milk first. ”  
  
Adora scoffed. “Okay, how did you become a hot cocoa expert?”  
  
Catra started heating the milk up on the stove. “What, do you think you were the only one who did anything fun during the years we were fighting?”  
  
Adora was taken aback by the sourness in Catra’s voice. “What? No, I - ”  
  
“Scorpia loves hot chocolate. She’d make it all the time. We figured out the best way to do it.”  
  
After the milk was warm, Catra grabbed the cocoa powder and started dumping some of it in the mugs. Adora looked down at the recipe. “ Catra, it says here that you should only put in a few tablespoons. You’re putting in too much.”  
  
Catra glared at Adora. “Do you want to win this, or not? You have to trust me.”

Adora put her hands on her hips. “C’mon Catra, you were still with the Horde. There’s no way you guys had any reference for what good cocoa even tastes like. Scoot over, let me do this.”  
  
Catra blocked Adora from getting too close to the mugs. “Adora, I’m almost done. Trust me, that recipe of yours isn’t gonna cut it. I know what I’m doing.”

Catra poured in a final drip of hot milk before sprinkling on some marshmallows. Adora looked back down at the recipe. Catra had done everything out of order, with the wrong measurements and the wrong proportions. Adora’s competitive mind sprung forward and she scowled at Catra. “Catra, you did basically all of this wrong. Do you always have to ruin everything?”

 _Do you always have to ruin everything?_ Adora’s words rang in Catra’s mind. Her tail straightened behind her back, and her eyes shut tight. _Do you always have to ruin everything?_ This time, it wasn’t Adora’s voice in her head, but the familiar, mocking, inescapable voice of her internal Shadow Weaver. Catra placed the mugs down on the counter as tears stung in the corners of her eyes. She looked at Adora for a short moment, all the hurt she felt written across her face.  
  
Adora felt immediate regret. “Oh, Catra – Catra, I didn’t mean that – I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” Catra turned away from Adora and marched away . Adora called after her. “Catra, please don’t go.”  
  
Catra stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before speaking. “Leave me alone, Adora.” She continued walking away down the hall.  
  
Adora returned to the kitchen gutted. She looked at the two mugs of cocoa and started to cry, before Glimmer and Bow appeared behind her back. Glimmer slapped her hand on Adora’s shoulder. “We’re back! We’ve got our cocoa here! …. where is Catra?” Adora turned around and faced her friends. “… oh no, Adora, what happened?”  
  
Bow took one of the mugs from behind Adora and took a sip. “Oh my goodness.” He took another quick sip. “This is literally the best cocoa I think I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. Glimmer, we definitely lost. Try this.”  
  
Glimmer took a sip. “Wow, this is amazing! ” Adora started to cry even harder, and Glimmer put the mug down. “Okay, Adora, what happened?”  
  
Adora sniffed in-between sobs. “I messed up! I was really mean to Catra and I should have trusted her and her cocoa is actually good and she was right – and she was having a hard time, and I should have realized that she was having a hard time, and this was too much for her all at once, and now I’m ruining our first Christmas together and I -”  
  
Bow put his hand on Adora’s shoulder. “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Let’s just go sit over on the table and we can talk about this.” Bow led Adora over to a chair on the table, and he and Glimmer sat down beside her. “Okay, let’s start over. What happened?”

Adora took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. “Well, we were making the cocoa, and Catra was really confident that she knew how to do it. She kind of took control and I – I didn’t trust her. She wasn’t following the recipe and I – I told her that she was ruining everything.”  
  
Bow took in a breath. “I knew turning cocoa into a competition was a bad idea! Cocoa should just not be competitive! Oof, Adora – I mean, we all know Catra has a bit of an inferiority complex. That was not a good thing to say.”  
  
“Don’t you think I know that? And the worst part is, she was clearly already having a hard time today. I just – I really wanted all this to go well. This is Catra’s first Christmas. And literally every other Christmas we’ve had, all I was wishing for was for Catra to be here. Now she’s finally here, and I ruined it!”

A thought lit up in Glimmer’s mind. She took Adora’s hand. “Wait, Adora, your Christmas wish every year was for Catra to be here? Did you – I mean, is that what you wrote in your letters to Santa?”  
  
Adora blushed, embarrassed. “I mean, yeah. Why do you guys think I liked doing that so much? It was always a way for me to, I don’t know, express that without saying anything.”

Bow placed his hand on his cheek. “Oh my gosh, that is so cute!”  
  
Adora rolled her eyes, before Glimmer got up from the table. “Okay, just stay right there. I have an idea. I’ll be back in a second.”  
  
Glimmer rushed away from the kitchen. Bow and Adora sat in silence for a moment, before Bow gave Adora a small nudge. “Hey, it’ll be okay.”  
  
Adora gave Bow a small smile. “Thanks, Bow. I just – I know I should be better than this. It’s like my own words are ringing in my head and I can’t believe I said that.”  
  
“We all say and do things we shouldn’t sometimes. I have to hope that Catra regrets throwing me off that cliff that one time.”  
  
Adora laughed. “Oh I’m sure she does – well, most of the time.”  
  
They both laughed for a moment, Adora drying the tears in her eyes, before Glimmer returned carrying a small folder. “Okay, we normally don’t do this for _years_ , but I have a feeling you need this Christmas magic now. Adora, these are your old Santa letters.”  
  
Glimmer slapped down the folder, and a few envelopes peeked out. Adora looked confused. “What? How do we still have these? I mean, didn’t we mail them away?”

“Adora, where would we mail them to? They just come right back into our mailbox. After they come back, one of the palace guards just files them away. It’s always fun to come back to these after years have gone by and see what silly things we wished for when we were little. It’s like a little Christmas time capsule. At least, that’s how we usually do this, but like I said – I think you need them a little early.”  
  
Adora looked at the envelopes and considered what Glimmer said. She grabbed the folder and stood up with some renewed confidence. “You’re right. I’m going to show Catra how much it means to me that she’s here.”  
  
Glimmer beamed with pride. “That’s the spirit!”  
  
Adora rushed away with the folder to go find Catra, but paused for a moment at the doorway. “Hey – thanks, guys.”  
  
Glimmer smiled. “What else is the Best Friend’s Squad for?” Adora smiled before darting away. Glimmer turned around and faced Bow. “And speaking of the Best Friend’s Squad – I think there’s something else the two of us can do to help Catra feel better.”  
  
Bow nodded. “I think I know exactly what you are talking about.”

\-----------------------

Catra didn’t dare go outside – not with how cold it was out there. She resigned herself to sulking in her and Adora’s bedroom. She wished she could climb up someplace high – that always helped her clear her mind – but it was just no use in this weather. She sat on her bed instead, a pillow in her arms, trying to keep herself from crying. She squeezed the pillow and breathed in deeply.  
  
_She didn’t mean to say that. She didn’t mean it at all._ Catra took a breath in, and a breath out. _But if she didn’t mean it, why did she say it? I was afraid that she felt that way all day. I was right._ She took another breath in and another breath out, but nothing was slowing her mind down. She closed her eyes and threw the pillow at the door, but was surprised to hear a small “oomph” from the doorway.  
  
“Hey, Adora.”  
  
Adora threw the pillow out of her face and approached Catra. “Hey.” Adora put her hand down on the bed next to Catra. “Is it – is it okay if I sit here?” Catra nodded slowly. Adora sat down and put her hands in her lap, holding the folder against her legs. “Listen, Catra, I’m sorry. I didn’t – I never should have said that. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean it. I’m really sorry.” Catra gave Adora a searching look, but she couldn’t find any words. Adora tried to ease the tension. “You’ll at least be happy to know that you were right about the cocoa. Bow and Glimmer both said it was the best hot chocolate they’ve ever had.”  
  
Catra let out a small smirk. “I tried to tell you.”  
  
Adora sighed. “I know, and you were right.” Adora pulled the folder up and started to open it. “Catra – there’s uh – there’s something I want to show you. Remember how I said that I really liked writing those Santa letters? Well, um – here they are. All three of them from the last three years.”  
  
Catra looked down at the folder. “Why would I want to read these?”  
  
Adora opened up the first one. “Just – there’s just something I want you to see, okay?”

Catra nodded tentatively, as Adora handed her the first letter. “This one would have been from three years ago.”

Catra started to read.

> _Dear Santa,  
>    
>  Wow, okay. You’ll have to bear with me here. I’m not quite sure how this works. My __new f_ _riend Glimmer tells me that you are a magical_ _elf_ _that lives in the Snow Kingdom and brings gifts to all the good people of Etheria. That’s amazing! I had a hard time believing that you were real at first, especially since you never brought us any presents in the_ _Fright Zone_ _, but Glimmer told me that Hordak knows about you and won’t let you deliver any presents to us. That’s so mean! I can’t believe the Horde has been like this the whole time! Anyway, I’m not really sure what I’m allowed to ask for, but I guess I could use – I don’t know, maybe an instruction manual for this sword? Do you have those? Anything that would help me know how to be She-Ra would be very helpful. Oh yeah, I’m also She-Ra. I don’t know if that helps. Do you know about She-Ra? It seems like most people do. Everybody but me!  
>    
>  Okay, to tell you the truth – Glimmer did say I could ask for anything - well, okay, my best friend is still with the Horde. I tried to get her to come with me, but I don’t think she took it very well. I miss her a lot. It’s hard to fall asleep because I’m so used to her being with me. And it’s hard to wake up __every day without her here, too_ _. Is there any chance you could –_ _look, is_ _there any chance you can use some Christmas magic and bring Catra to the_ _R_ _ebellion?_ _Her name is Catra,_ _by the way_ _._ _She still lives in the Fright Zone._ _I understand that this is probably a weird request.  
>    
>  If you can’t bring her to the Rebellion, maybe you could at least try and bring her a present, to_ _o_ _. I know she’d like that._ _Maybe some real food, if you can. She wouldn’t believe how good the food is here._
> 
> _Well, that’s probably all I’m asking for this year. Again, I’m not really sure how this works, but I hope to learn more soon.  
>    
>  Sincerely, _
> 
> _Adora_

Catra gripped the sides of the letter tightly with her hands. A swell of emotion bubbled up in her throat, as she recalled sitting in her bed, alone in the Fright Zone, certain that Adora wasn’t thinking about her at all. She swiped a tear from her eye before she looked at Adora, a smirk on her face. “You’re such an idiot, Adora – I still can’t believe you believed all this.”  
  
Adora breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Catra finally smile. She put her hands up in protest. “Hey, I told you, I was confused!” Catra let out a small laugh. Adora let her hand find Catra’s, and Catra squeezed Adora’s hand in acceptance. “I had figured it out by the time I got to this second letter, I’ll have you know.” Adora broke open the second letter and handed the paper to Catra.

> _Dear Santa,  
>    
>  Well, now that I know this isn’t a real letter, I guess I can just vent more. Glimmer says that it helps to just write stuff out sometimes. She also says that sometimes the Christmas magic still works, but I’m not sure how far I’m actually going to go with _ _that._ _I got burned on the Santa thing already.  
>    
>  What I want this year is just an effective plan for the Rebellion to win this war. I’m getting tired of all the planning, honestly, and it would be nice to have enough time to actually figure out where I come from. That would be a nice present too – maybe something that tells me where I come from? A family tree? Light Hope is enough of a mystery as it is. She hardly explains anything. I always have to figure out some kind of secret code just to get her to tell me anything useful.  
>    
>  I hope that you bring some nice presents for all the other princesses, too. _ _Maybe a new dress for Perfuma, and a new Snowball net for Frosta. Maybe you can even get Mermista a nice Sea-Ra action figure or something.  
>    
>  Okay, I’m avoiding the truth here. The truth is – and you can’t tell anybody this, especially not Light Hope, who keeps telling me that I need to let go of my attachments – the truth is I still really just want Catra _ _back_ _. And I know that it’s unrealistic, and I know I should just let it go. It’s not fair, either, considering how many times she’s tried to kill us. But every time I see her – I don’t know, it’s like – it’s like I remember all the times from before, when she used to look at me like she just accepted me for who I am. I miss feeling that way. I still just miss Catra, and I hate having to fight her. I want her with me.  
>    
>  Here’s hoping for some of that Christmas magic, I guess.  
>    
>  Sincerely, _
> 
> _Adora_

Catra felt some unavoidable tears fall from her eyes. She put the letter to her side and looked at Adora again. Adora reached out her hand and squeezed Catra’s again. Catra remembered all the times she was certain Adora didn’t care about her, didn’t think about her, didn’t feel anything towards her at all – and her heart beat heavy with the realization that Adora was sitting here for years waiting for her. Catra looked down at herself. “Adora, look, I -”  
  
“Don’t say anything yet. You’ve still got one more letter to read.”  
  
Adora pulled out the last letter and set it on Catra’s lap.

> _Dear Santa,  
>    
>  This has not been a good year. Everything seems to be falling apart. The Horde is winning, we’ve lost important people – I don’t even know if it is worth writing a letter this year. How can there possibly be such a thing as Christmas magic?  
>    
>  You know what I want, and you know that I shouldn’t want it. I know that I shouldn’t want it, too. But it hasn’t gone away. I’m under so much pressure, all the time – Glimmer is using me as bait just to win the war, Bow is stressed because Glimmer is stressed, and it turns out that She-Ra is just an ancient super weapon built by my people to win another war. What’s the point of any of this?  
>    
>  A long time ago, I remember that I promised my best friend that I’d look out for her. I can remember that she looked at me like that was the most important thing anybody’s ever said. _ _And I was just Adora when I said that – I wasn’t She-Ra, I wasn’t anybody important. That friend looked at Adora and trusted Adora._ _I miss that look more than anything. If there is still even a sliver of Christmas magic – if that’s even a real thing - well, I’ve already asked twice before. Please_ _bring Catra home.  
>    
>  Sincerely,  
>  Adora _

Catra couldn’t contain the tears this time. She buried herself into Adora’s body, squeezing Adora tightly against herself. Adora put her arms around Catra and held her. She spoke softly against Catra’s head. “Catra, you were all I ever wanted for Christmas. You can’t ruin this – How can you ruin this when you being here is all I’ve ever wanted?”  
  
Catra held onto Adora for a long moment, then broke the embrace enough to look into Adora’s eyes. “Adora – I’m sorry. I should have been there. I should have always been there with you.”  
  
Adora smiled softly. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re together now, right? And nothing bad can happen now.”

Adora drew Catra back into herself, and they sat there for a moment, holding each other. Catra was the first one to get up, lifting Adora to her feet as well. “Hey, I think we can head back out there. I’m ready to go see what else Sparkles has planned.”  
  
Adora smiled. “Okay, let’s go.”

Hand in hand, Adora and Catra walked outside of their bedroom into the hallway. As soon as they got some distance down the hall, Bow and Glimmer appeared and ran towards them holding a wrapped present. They yelled “Merry Christmas, Catra!”  
  
Catra was taken aback. “What? What are you talking about? Isn’t Christmas not for a couple of weeks?”  
  
Glimmer smirked and looked at Bow. “Yeah, but we figured you could use this a little early. Open it up!” Glimmer handed Catra her present, and Catra began tearing at the wrapping paper. Catra pulled out a sweater, similar to the ones Adora, Bow, and Glimmer were all wearing, but with four small icons instead of three. The icons of Adora, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra were laying down on what looked like grass, holding hands and gazing up at the stars. Under the icons, the sweater said “ HOME ” in large white letters. “Well, go ahead, try it on!” Catra squeezed her head through the sweater and looked down at herself. A smile spread across her face, and a few tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. She rushed towards Glimmer and brought her into a hug. Glimmer laughed “Well, I guess this means you like it?”  
  
Catra giggled, unable to contain her joy. “It’s so dorky. I hate it.”

Adora and Bow joined in on the hug, and they all squeezed each other tightly. Glimmer cackled. “Well, you’ll have to get used to it. It’s your Christmas sweater all the way through next year! We’re all getting the same one, of course, but we thought you could use yours early. We-” Glimmer put her hand on Catra’s shoulder. “Catra, we wanted you to know that we are really glad you are here with us.”  
  
Catra looked down and smiled. “I’m glad I’m here with you, too.”

Glimmer nodded, before turning to Bow and Adora. “Well, let’s go write those Santa letters! We can’t forget to do that!”

Adora bumped Catra’s shoulder and giggled. “Now you know why it might be hard for me to do that this year. I already got what I wanted.”  
  
Catra’s heart fluttered, and she beamed at Adora. A thought occurred to her , and she decided what she was going to do with her letter. “I don’t think it’ll be too hard for me.”  
  
Adora furrowed her brow. “Oh, why is that? What are you going to ask for?”  
  
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

\--------------------------------

“I can’t believe Scorpia actually believed that Wrong Hordak was Santa!” Glimmer kicked off her boots after returning from their Christmas party in the Scorpion Kingdom on Christmas night. Catra, Bow, and Adora all took of their coats as well.  
  
Catra laughed. “I can’t believe Adora almost ruined it for her!”  
  
Adora scoffed. “Listen, Wrong Hordak sounded exactly like himself. He even called everybody ‘Brother’. How was I supposed to know that Scorpia actually believed he was Santa. Besides, she didn’t hear me.”  
  
Catra bumped Adora. “Yeah, she didn’t hear you because I caught you mid-spoiler and told you to be quiet, you dummy!”  
  
Everybody laughed as they removed the remains of their winter gear. Glimmer spoke as she hung her scarf around a hanger. “I will say, though, that Scorpia has more Christmas spirit than just about anybody I’ve ever seen. It’s surprising for somebody who grew up in the Horde.”  
  
Catra smirked. “Are you kidding? Scorpia was born with Christmas spirit. The Horde couldn’t take that away.”

Glimmer smiled as she took Bow’s hand. “Well, I think me and Bow are gonna go make some of that delicious cocoa you taught us how to make and sit down by the fireplace. Do you two want to join us?”  
  
Adora perked up. “Yeah, that sounds great!”  
  
Catra hesitated. “Uhh, actually, there’s something I have to put away in our bedroom really quickly first. Adora, do you want to come with me?”  
  
Adora looked puzzled, but agreed. “Oh, uhh – yeah, sure.”

Bow and Glimmer gave each other a nod. “Okay, well, we’ll just be in the front room by the fireplace. Come join us when you’re done!”  
  
Catra took Adora’s hand and they walked down the hallway towards their bedroom. Adora gave Catra a small tug. “What do you need to do in our bedroom?”

Catra trembled nervously for a second, but tried to hide it. “Oh, there’s just something I forgot to put away. It’s been bothering me all night.”  
  
Catra opened up their door and led Adora to their bed. On the bed there was an envelope with the words “For Adora” written on the front. Catra smiled. “Oh, what is that? It looks like there is something for you here, Adora.”

Adora looked down at the envelope and picked it up. “Catra, what is this?”  
  
“Open it up.”  
  
Adora tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper inside.

>   
>  _Hey, Adora -  
>    
>  Okay, so I wrote this instead of writing a letter to Santa. Hopefully that doesn’t ruin Sparkles’ tradition or whatever. But hey, you can’t really blame me. You guys may be that dorky, but I think its pretty obvious that I’m much too cool for that sort of thing. Besides, what on earth was I supposed to ask for when I already have everything I’ve ever wanted? _
> 
> _Instead of writing a letter to Santa, I thought I might try writing a letter to you. I almost did, so many times, when we were fighting. I guess I probably should have. I’m sorry that I was so stubborn.  
>    
>  I’m sitting here next to you while you write your Santa letter, and you keep sticking your stupid tongue out while you write like a dummy. If it didn’t make you look like such an idiot, I might say that it is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. _ _Maybe it still is._ _  
>   
>  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Adora. I really do. I hope that you know that. _ _I hope that I’m getting better at expressing it. I know I just barely learned what Christmas was, but I think I can say that being with you has certainly been my Christmas wish for my entire life. Maybe it really was some Christmas magic that brought us back together. It certainly feels like some kind of magic that I’m lucky enough to be here with you.  
>    
>  I’m sorry I wasn’t always there with you. I know that I should have been. But I promise, from here on out, I’ll be here for every Christmas as long as you’ll have me. Nothing would make me happier tha_ _n that.  
>    
>  \- Your Catra_

_  
_ Adora put down the letter and felt the tears run hot down her cheeks. She looked at Catra and let all the love she felt radiate our of her eyes. Catra gave a searching look, still trying to shake off her own nervous energy. “I don’t really know if I’m any good at writing, but -”  
  
Adora interrupted Catra by pulling her into a fierce kiss. Catra’s eyes widened in shock before she let her arms fall around Adora and finally relax. She purred loudly before Adora spoke. “I love you so much, Catra.”  
  
Catra leaned her forehead against Adora’s. “I love you too, Adora.”  
  
They held onto each other for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the embrace, then Adora snorted. “So, wait, did you really write that right next to me?”  
  
Catra smiled. “I can be sneaky. What did you end up doing with your Santa letter?”  
  
Adora giggled. “Oh, I really couldn’t come up with anything good to ask for, so I ended up just asking Santa to make sure that the next year was filled with lots of good food.”  
  
Catra laughed. “Well, ‘Santa’ will certainly know that letter came from you, you dummy.”

Adora broke the embrace but held onto Catra’s hand. “Well, should we go have some of your famous hot cocoa now?”  
  
Catra nodded. “That sounds perfect.”  
  
Catra and Adora wandered back towards the front room, where they found Bow and Glimmer sitting by the fireplace and two mugs of cocoa ready for them sitting on the counter. Adora grabbed a blanket, and they grabbed their mugs and sat down on the floor, with Catra cradled in Adora’s lap. As Catra sat there and looked at her friends, all wearing matching sweaters, and the magical decorations that shimmered throughout the room, a deep warmth settled into the pit of her stomach. _Maybe this is what the spirit of Christmas feels like._ She snuggled closer into Adora and smiled up at her.  
  
“Merry Christmas, Adora.”  
  
Adora gave Catra a dopey smile in return. “Merry Christmas, Catra.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I really wanted a cheesy hallmark Catradora Christmas special, so I decided I would just write one. I hope that you enjoy it!


End file.
